After Battle
by Esperwen
Summary: The Konoha Dozen and Sand Trio are now around eighteen years old, during a time of war. A surprise attack on Konoha has left them all in pain; how do you keep fighting if the one you love is gone? - This fic includes OC -
1. The Battle That Started it All

_Esperwen-_ This, I started writing maybe one and a half years ago. I meant it to be short...But it's gonna be around 10 chapters long. (Wait, that _is _short, for one of my fics...)

This fic takes place when each of the 'Konoha Dozen' are around 18 years old. Tsunade is still Hokage, Sasuke is back in Konoha, and the Akatsuki are no longer a threat. Also, Konoha has not made any treaties with the Iwa/the Village of the Hidden Stone yet; they are still at war. There are over 9000 pairings in here.  


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_**Chapter One ~ The Battle That Started it All**_

It was supposed to have been a good day. A chuunin exam had been scheduled for the next month, and Konoha had been buzzing with excitement for the Kazekage's arrival; it was his custom to travel to the Hidden Leaf a month early. The fifth Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand, often helped with the chuunin exams' preparations; because he was good friends with the esteemed jounin, Uzumaki Naruto, naturally Gaara did his best to keep his allies and friends' lives running smoothly. But it was not even noon when a surprise attack from Iwa, the Hidden Stone, came...

~*~*~

Tsunade landed a good punch into the stomach of her opponent, sending the Stone shinobi flying backwards. Kicking out at another enemy, she looked through the corners of her eyes at her companions. Her 18-year-old Naruto was fighting strong; he may be against four at once, but Tsunade was only worried because she loved him so. Tsunade knew he usually fought against so many, but that never stopped her from feeling what Naruto often called her 'granny instincts'. His girlfriend, Hinata, was beside him, both beautiful and terrifying with her skill in the Gentle Fist style; she was doing well, Tsunade could see.

"Where the hell is everyone else?!" a black torpedo roared.

The black blur landed in the ground beside Tsunade, raising dirt and rocks everywhere, and another violent blur that looked just like the first landed at Tsunade's other side, barrelling through a ninja that Tsunade hadn't been focusing on. Both blurs slowed down, until Tsunade could see what appeared to be twin Konoha shinobi. They didn't seem tired, yet, but from the wild look in their eyes, Inuzuka Kiba and his dog Akamaru, both in their half-beast forms, probably took soldier pills before going through with their Gatsuuga technique, which would explain their extra energy. And maybe some of their extra anger.

"Would you relax, baka?" Ino yelled over her shoulder, while using her Mind Possession technique to manipulate two enemies into slaughtering each other, "They're all inside, fighting the ninja that decided our front gate was too good for them!"

"Save your breath, dattebayo!" Naruto called angrily, his eyes glowing red, "Us five should be enough to hold the gate! We've got Tsunade-obaachan, the freakin' Hokage!"

"We've been at this for over an hour," Kiba pointed out, clawing at a young Stone shinobi before she got too close, "We need reinforcements! Either that or we have to retreat!"

"I'm not running away!" Naruto snapped, landing a good roundhouse kick on one of the ninja.

"Gomen, Naruto-kun, but some of us don't have as great a chakra supply as you do," Hinata said softly, but somehow all of them could hear her, even with angry ninja fighting around them.

"All we can hope for is that there are people on the inside, fighting to get to us," Tsunade said, cracking her neck before attacking again as she did so, "And Gaara's contingent should be on their way; they'll be travelling, but knowing Sand shinobi and the three ninja I sent to escort him, they'll be ready to help us fight as soon as they arrive!"

"Dammit, why'd you have to send _Sasuke_ to Suna?" Naruto groaned, "He'd be a huge-ass help, right about now!"

Looking backwards with her Byakugan, Hinata saw Naruto had three kunai in each hand, sizing up six opponents that were around him. Not unexpectedly, three puffs of smoke appeared around Naruto, and now he seemed to be a set of quadruplets. With a snarl, he and his clones attacked the enemies.

"You know Sasuke hates travelling, dattebayo!" one of Naruto's clones added, slicing a kunai across an enemy's throat.

"I'll admit it; I'm kind of sadistic," Tsunade grinned, but then her eyes widened when she heard a yelp of pain; that person rarely made a sound, but when she did...

"Hinata?!"

Kiba and Akamaru both took out the three Iwa ninja that had harmed his teammate, while the real Naruto rushed to Hinata's side; she was unsteady on her feet, and Naruto put an arm around her shoulders to steady her. He and Kiba shared looks; Hinata had been stabbed in the stomach, and her left foot was absorbed into the ground, probably because of some kind of ninjutsu.

_You better take good care of my teammate,_ Kiba's look seemed to say, before he and Akamaru jumped back into the battle.

"No, leave me!" Hinata pushed away from the blonde ninja, causing herself to fall to one knee in the process, "I'll slow you down, Naruto-kun! I'll be fine here; I can still cripple them, at least."

"That's bull! I'm not leaving you here-" Naruto started, then ended with a gasp that Tsunade couldn't help but wince at.

The jounin hadn't been paying enough attention to his surroundings; a ninja had managed to stab him in his lower back. Naruto retaliated with a vicious kick, but another ninja grabbed his foot and twisted his ankle maliciously; Naruto couldn't help but scream before he gouged the enemy in the chest with his kunai.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed as he landed beside her, when suddenly she found herself unable to breathe; she was coughing up blood.

"We're both not going anywhere," Naruto winced, then shielded Hinata's body with his when one of Ino's opponents came flying their way.

"Sorry!" Ino called, hacking and slashing with her kunai for all she was worth; she swore when one ninja got a good gash in her arm, "Dammit! Tsunada-sama, Kiba's right! We have to retreat!"

"Think, Ino; are you even fighting offensively anymore?" Tsunade asked, landing another good punch, "We're all on the defensive, now. If we stop, they'll only swarm onto and kill us; retreating gives them an opening. We don't have a choice, right now!"

"Sucks to be us, right now!" Kiba growled, landing from his Gatsuuga technique at a hard roll on the ground; he was running out of chakra, and it was time for simple taijutsu.

"Filthy bastards!" the whisker tattoos on Naruto's face were becoming even more prominent, and he got up, now that the Kyuubi's chakra had healed his ankle, "GET AWAY FROM MY VILLAGE!"

~*~*~

"Neji, can you see them?" Tenten asked, floating up in the air, surrounded by two unravelled scrolls which served as her defence while she threw multiple ranged weapons at the enemy below.

"Yes. Our Lady Hokage and her four companions are holding out all right," Neji reported, focusing his Byakugan in that direction only during a short Kaiten; he was a shinobi of Konoha, and they never gave the enemy an opening.

"Good," Chouji murmured, using giant-sized fists as hammers to flatten several enemy, thinking, _Ino's still alive..._

"Tenten, if you knock down the post on that stall, it'll collapse and at least maim those five ninja over there," a chuunin in pink called before using complicated taijutsu to take out one of her opponents.

Curious to see if the chuunin's word was right, Tenten did as she was told and threw a scythe at the post in question. The 18-year-old had been right; the stall collapsed accordingly, and Tenten saw that at least two of those enemy would never get up again.

"Pooriin-chan, how do you always figure out these things?" Tenten asked, somewhat admiringly.

Chatora Pooriin was of a cat-using clan, which was interesting, because though the Chatora and Inuzuka clans were feuding against each other, Pooriin and Kiba had been dating for quite some time. Pooriin was of normal build, slightly below-average height, had tanned skin, and long, black, wavy hair that she kept in a high pony-tail, without any bangs in front. She wore pink, skin-tight shorts underneath a pink miniskirt, and over a pink tank top she proudly wore her chuunin flak vest. And at that moment, she wore her green forehead protector over one eye, a bit like how Kakashi did; all ninja present couldn't help but think that her fighting would be affected, but her taijutsu was about as good as Tenten's, now that they were watching her.

"It's a gift I have," Pooriin grinned, before dodging a thrown kunai, then rushing at the culprit, "I can see little weaknesses like that."

_That's some kind of doujutsu,_ Neji thought, half-watching Pooriin while he fought his own opponents, _All her attacks are one-hit knockouts or kills. But...she seems to have trouble with multiple people__._

"Pooriin-chan, behind you!" Chouji exclaimed, already moving his hands to snatch at two men who were charging Pooriin.

Chouji's grabs missed, and when Pooriin turned around, she only managed to jump and land a hefty roundhouse kick on one man's head. Tenten winced when she heard a snap, but shook it off; that was an enemy, so why should she pity him? The second man, however, twisted out of the way and managed to reach out and just scratch Pooriin's arm with a small, curved dagger. Pooriin yelped, then, realizing that the wound wasn't that bad, narrowed her eyes at the culprit and brought in a deadly punch to the Iwa shinobi's abdomen. But something didn't seem right; as he died, the man did not seem remorseful. He looked as if he had accomplished something important for his comrades. Still, Pooriin brushed the thought off; what was one guy? Dozens of other ninja were still attacking, and, just as she, Chouji, Neji and Tenten were guarding the main north road, other Konoha ninja were doing their best on all the other main roads. Now wasn't the time to let one strange event stop her from fighting.

Neji was the first to notice a problem.

While using his Jyuuken blows to the best of his abilities, Neji also was using his Byakugan at every moment. With those pale eyes, he noticed some kind of dark fluid starting to flow through Pooriin's bloodstream. As it flowed, Pooriin's arm was moving slower, and slower. And then Pooriin herself felt the sluggishness move throughout her entire body.

"What...what's happening to me?" Pooriin wondered out loud, feeling dizzy.

_Kuso...at a time like this!_ Neji's brow furrowed as he barked out warnings, "Tenten, stand by Pooriin-chan! There's some kind of poison flowing through her system! ...Dammit!" he saw Hinata get stabbed in the distance.

"AAGH!" Pooriin screamed when one enemy managed to tackle her and knock her awkwardly onto the ground; her left arm snapped and stayed at a strange angle under her body.

"Takku, are you serious?" Tenten exclaimed, landing back on the ground and throwing weapons left and right while she ran to her fellow kunoichi; she tried homing in on the arm breaker, but she disappeared around a corner before Tenten could reach her, "Oi, Pooriin-chan! Don't move too much; that'll get the poison moving faster! Just hold still and tell me their weaknesses."

"His left ankle is weak," Pooriin wheezed, her body suddenly feeling unbearably heavy while she lay there on the ground, "Take advantage of it."

"This one?" Tenten summoned nunchuks from one of her scrolls and attacked one ninja.

"Yes, that..." Pooriin's eyes darkened, and even her voice was fading, like her vision, "I...I can't..."

"Pooriin-chan?"

Tenten glanced back to check on her comrade. That was a mistake.

That same ninja from before came in from her blind spot, and grabbed one of her arms; this time, she didn't bother with knocking Tenten down, and again, a left arm snapped.

"AAGH!"

Tenten blinked bad hot tears of pain and hatred, while she slammed her nunchuks around her enemy's neck and folded them tight, cutting off the Iwa kunoichi's airway.

"Tenten-chan, behind you!" Chouji warned from across the road, but he was too late.

Another Iwa ninja came from behind Tenten, and clubbed Tenten's head viciously with the pole that Tenten had snapped earlier. With a moan, Tenten collapsed beside Pooriin, who was also senseless, but she didn't let her nunchuks go, so she still managed to take one Iwa ninja down with her. Seeing what had happened, both Neji and Chouji hurried to the girls' aid; Chouji batted all other enemies away, while Neji dealt with both arm breaker and ambusher.

"HEY!" Chouji yelled as loud as he could, hoping an ally would hear, and not more Iwa ninja, "WE NEED HELP, HERE!"

~*~*~

"What are they doing out there?" Sakura exclaimed, when she saw four more Iwa ninja approach the front of Konoha's hospital, "What's wrong with our defence? We're right in the middle of the stupid village! Over twenty enemies have gotten through!"

"Would you prefer the hundreds that Tsunade-sama and the others are dealing with outside Konoha's walls, perhaps?" Lee asked, politely yet sarcastically, while performing Konoha Senpuu against two ninja, before landing beside Sakura and sizing up the new opponents, "...You take the two on the left?"

"No problem," Sakura growled, her fists already glowing blue with chakra.

Together, both ran at their enemies, fierce lights shining in their eyes. Lee managed to get a five-hit combo on one, and Sakura dispatched another with a good punch; her master, Tsunade, had taught her well. They were finishing off the other two when six ninja ambushed them. Lee held his own against two, but Sakura had been distracted when they arrived; she had wanted to straighten up and complain again, but that had not been wise. One punched her hard in the stomach, and two others slashed her arms, making them useless. The fourth landed a nasty blow across the top of her head, and she went down, overwhelmed.

"Sakura-san!" Lee exclaimed, seeing her fall, then narrowed his eyes at the enemies, "How dare you even exist in her presence, you filthy low-lives!"

Lee crossed the distance separating him and the enemies with a leap, and in a matter of seconds, all four were down for the count. He knelt over Sakura's still form, then relaxed slightly when she was still breathing. She was unconscious and unable to help him, but Sakura-san was alive.

Hearing footsteps, Lee looked up to see that eight more Iwa ninja were on their way. He groaned inwardly; just six ninja at once was pushing his luck. But there was Sakura-san...he glanced down at her, a soft look on his face, before standing up quickly, focusing on the enemy.

"I told you once I would risk my life for you," Lee said quietly, putting one hand behind his back, and another in an almost beckoning position towards his opponents, "...I still will, Sakura-san."

~*~*~

"Don't slow down!" Shino barked, pushing the girl and boy in front of him to hurry them.

"Everyone, keep heading towards the tunnels," the 18-year-old girl called, cupping her hands around her mouth while her dog team of four barked with her, "We're almost there!"

Shino stood still for a moment, at one of the wooden stairs' observation points. He had been the last jounin left in charge of the evacuation for Konoha's elderly, women, and children; they were now climbing the stairs that would lead them to a tunnel towards a safe hold. Looking down from his vantage point on the cliff, he saw his Hokage's efforts at the main gate were far from fruitless; not so many that approached the gate actually entered Konoha. But enough still entered to be a threat; Shino observed as his comrades, both of the Konoha Dozen and otherwise, and even his family fought in Konoha's streets.

_Do your best, everyone,_ Shino thought, clenching his fists, _I'll join you when these__ people are safe._

The girl saw the set in Shino's jaw; after knowing him for so many years, she could accurately guess what he was thinking.

"We're halfway there," she said calmingly, putting a hand on his arm, "C'mon, you of all people know we shouldn't stop. We'll be able to help everyone else in just a few more minutes."

Shino turned to his girlfriend, facing her directly with a faint softness in his eyes that no-one could see from behind his sunglasses. Inuzuka Michiko had been adopted by Kiba's mother, Tsume, over five years back after seeing Michiko's affinity to dogs; the girl had a dog team of four to help her fight, as it were. Of slender build and average height, Michiko had hip-long, straight black hair that she kept up in a bun held by chopsticks when she was working, either as medic or ninja; on her right cheek was one red fang tattoo, an homage to her new clan. She wore a long, sleeveless, light-blue dress over navy-blue short shorts, the long skirt parted only on one side, and she had a blue obi tied around her waist. That obi was covered with small pockets, holding what Shino knew to be dozens of medical supplies, and her forehead protector was tied securely over her forehead, right where it was meant to be.

As Shino began marching again, he glanced at the ten-year-old boy that had stayed with Michiko, rather than do the wise thing and continue with the other refugees. Saneijin lived in Suna, where Michiko went to study medical techniques, and he was studying to become a genin. When Saneijin had been orphaned five years before, Michiko had been assigned his personal guardian for extra medical training. Because of this, Saneijin viewed Michiko as his mother, often calling her:

"Mimi-okaa..." Saneijin murmured, pointing down several wooden steps while they both walked before Shino.

"I know. I sense their chi," Michiko nodded, referring to the dozen Iwa ninja that were coming up the stairs; she pushed Saneijin slightly in front of her, "You go ahead and catch up to the others."

"No! Let me fight!" Saneijin said stubbornly, standing his ground and blocking the stairs, causing both Shino and Michiko to stop, "I'm the best ninja in my class, and you know that!"

"You're not a ninja yet," Shino said sternly; any other child would quail at his expression, but Saneijin had been around Shino for a long time.

"And you're not my Otou-san yet," Saneijin shot back, causing Michiko to blush furiously, "Don't tell me what to do!"

"Saneijin, _please,_" Michiko begged, while Shino pretended he hadn't heard a word.

"I want to fight!" Saneijin exclaimed, "Give me a chance!"

Michiko glanced down the stairs to the enemy, then up at the evacuating villagers; one was too close, and the other was getting too far away.

"Fine, how about this: Shino and I will stay here, while you go ahead with Porthos and D'Artagnan and protect your allies," Michiko said pleadingly, motioning for two of her dogs to join Saneijin, then pressing her own personal dagger into Saneijin's hands.

"I...this is your best dagger," Saneijin said, awed as he looked at the ornate blade, "You never give this to me unless-"

"Unless I'm being deadly serious and it's really important, I _know_," Michiko rolled her eyes, "Listen. Get some of the older kids who are studying to be ninja to back you up, but you have to be the main one to protect those refugees, now. After travelling with me, you have the most battle experience; you have to be their leader, all right?"

"Yes!" Saneijin exclaimed enthusiastically, but he quickly sobered up when he saw his mentor's serious look.

"But _never_, under _any _circumstance, will you lord that fact over them," Michiko said sternly, "If you do that, your group will not listen to you, and your mission will _fail_. If you fail, hundreds of people will _die_. So you had _better _be a humble leader. Your future senior officer is giving you an order. Do you understand me?"

"Uh-huh," Saneijin nodded vigorously, then raised the dagger in a salute, "I'll do my best, Mimi-okaa."

"Good. Now take these..."

Michiko removed her medial obi and handed it to Saneijin, signifying that Saneijin was going to have to be the villagers' protector now, and that she was ready to step out of her medical nin mode and into her killing kunoichi mode. She kissed Saneijin's forehead quickly, then spun him around to face the rest of the stairs.

"Now go!"

Shino and Michiko watched Saneijin go up a few steps, with two of Michiko's dogs right beside him, and then they turned around to face their steadily approaching enemy.

"My grandmother's fate now rests in the hands of your young charge," Shino said dryly, swarms of kikaichu pouring from his sleeves, pant legs, the gourd on his back...everywhere.

"I didn't know she was there," Michiko said cheerfully, swallowing the fear rising up in her gut, "I should've said 'hi' to her. I mean, after all, Saneijin might already view her as his great-grandmother."

"Don't even joke about that," Shino groaned, his kikaichu buzzing in agreement.

He waited until after Michiko laughed, then he took her hand and squeezed it (taking that moment to plant a female beetle as a homing device in case they got separated) before taking a deep breath and looking towards the Iwa ninja, again. They were still coming quickly, but not quickly enough. Both ninja hated the wait that came before their battle's clash; there was too much time to imagine the ugliness that would come.

"...Do your best," Michiko murmured, when the enemy were almost upon them.

She brushed Shino's cheek with her lips briefly, then turned towards her enemy, forcing herself to no longer care about another human being's life; if she didn't do that, her medic nature would stop her from doing what she had to do. As he continued to watch their enemies approach, Shino saw brightness flare up in the corner of his eyes; Michiko had a bloodline limit that allowed her to transform into different elements, and fire was her favourite choice when fighting. One of her dogs, which looked more like a small, black fox, had stayed close to Michiko, and had also turned into fire, while the fourth dog, which seemed to be an over three-foot-tall, brown wolf, simply bared his teeth and bristled his fur as he prepared to fight.

Shino threw his mind into his shinobi mode, holding two kunai at the ready. The first two ninja looked to be younger than him, but he ignored that thought; a true ninja of Konoha goes all out, no matter how weak the enemy may seem. In the back of his mind, he wished that things could be different, that they didn't need to fight and kill. But...Shino threw his kunai in rapid succession, before sending his kikaichus out into the fray, while Michiko and her dogs lunged forward; a ninja never thinks of his personal affairs, only that of his village and comrades.

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_Esperwen- _LOVE MY OC! I COMMAND IT! Also, send me a review.


	2. Counting Casualties

_Esperwen_- I know, I know; I should be updating my other stories! I'm actually taking a break from homework, right now, which I probably shouldn't be doing... (I HAVE 3 PAPERS DUE IN 5 DAYS, MAN!) Buut, I felt that it was time I posted something. So, here we are. It's something.

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_**Chapter Two ~ Counting Casualties**_

Tsunade looked around her battlefield, frowning at the carnage that littered what had once been a dirt road. Gaara-sama, Temari-san, and the Konoha team Tsunade had sent out arrived not a moment too soon; by the time the six ninja had arrived, Hinata had been knocked unconscious, Ino had been weakly slowing down Iwa ninja, and Tsunade had been struggling with simply hitting people. The men had not been doing too well, either; Kiba and Akamaru had resorted to wrestling against opponents, and Naruto had been down to his last nine shuriken.

But two blurs of blue lightning had streaked across the road, one stopping Iwa ninja that were just past Tsunade's group, entering or approaching Konoha's main gate, while the other circled and protected the exhausted Leaf shinobi, preventing them from being attacked. Gigantic wind-based techniques had swept approaching shinobi backwards, away from the gate, and any enemies that escaped the 'minor' hurricane had had tonnes of sand to deal with. By the gate, some ninja found themselves strangled to death by their own shadows, and other shinobi discovered that their weapons gained lives of their own and turned against their owners.

"Holy-" Kiba muttered a few things to himself that he probably shouldn't have.

"Trust Naruto to let enemies in the front door," Sasuke smirked to himself, returning from re-securing the main gate.

"I can hear you, teme!" Naruto snapped, shaking a fist from beside Hinata's still form.

"Late as usual, Kakashi," Tsunade scolded with mock severity, shaking a finger at her 'rescuer'.

"Sorry, we got lost somewhere between Ame and Oto," Kakashi smiled, scratching the back of his silver-haired head.

"That's some jutsu, Temari-chan," Ino complimented weakly, while she knelt on the ground, drained, "You're carrying two fans, now?"

"One's a spare," Temari shrugged, shoving the smaller, but still very large fan into her backpack, "I just thought I'd try the Slicing Hurricane Technique out. I guess it was okay."

"Impressive as ever, with the same mock humility," Ino smirked, "Admit it, you think you rock."

"Yeah, I do," Temari grinned, helping Ino up with one hand.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, arriving at Temari's side, "You couldn't take care of Konoha for one week, Ino?"

"Lay off, slacker; if you were in my place, you'd be dead already," Ino rolled her eyes good-naturedly, and then went to join her Hokage, where Gaara and the two Sharingan-users were already gathered.

Deniizu, the sixth arriving ninja, rubbed her temples discretely, before walking onto the road where Kiba was; she had a telekinetic bloodline limit, and overuse of the ability gave her a headache. The 18-year-old orphan was dressed in a black, Chinese shirt with sleeves that reached her elbows, and that buttoned up in front along the middle, long enough to just go over her hips, and covered in small pockets for various throwing weapons. She wore black cargo pants which were also covered in pockets, for the same reason, and even though her only piece of clothing that had colour, an open, green chuunin vest, already had pockets, she had sewn on even more places to accommodate extra kunai. Her black forehead protector was tied onto her forehead, and she had a black-hilted katana strapped onto her belt, alongside two ninja weapon pouches. Deniizu had green eyes, fair skin, and brown, shoulder-length hair that was streaked red with dye, as well as a fierce look that was almost always on her face; right now, however, the young chuunin looked down on Kiba with concern.

"You all right, man?" Deniizu asked seriously, helping her friend up and mindful of all the cuts and wounds he had sustained.

"Yeah, nothing's fatal," Kiba nodded, while Akamaru stayed lying where he was, too exhausted to get up, "Hinata and Naruto got the worst of it, I think. They were right in the middle of the group; they wouldn't let Tsunade-sama take the most dangerous place."

"Hinata blacked out, and Naruto's just about getting there," Deniizu nodded, then, when both of them heard a thud and commotion coming from the other group, "Yeah, he's out. Do you know where Michiko is?"

Kiba glanced over and saw that Naruto had fainted, then grinned at his old friend's constant calm and punched her in the arm lightly.

"Your best friend is fine. When the attacks started she had been on a date with Shino. They probably weren't happy to be bothered by ninja from the Hidden Stone."

Deniizu smiled, knowing that Shino and Michiko rarely had uninterrupted dates anymore (if ever); Michiko was one of the most talented medical ninja in Konoha and Suna, and Shino was becoming somewhat busy with both ninja and family affairs. Since Shino had turned eighteen, the Aburame clan was going into official training to prepare Shino to become clan leader, not to mention they had to study Michiko to see if she was proper material for a clan leader's wife. Also, Konoha's ANBU were interested in enlisting Shino, having been watching him ever since he had been promoted to the jounin ranking a few months back; the two young ninja were hard put to find time alone with each other.

"How was the trip to Suna?" Kiba asked, starting to walk towards the Hokage.

"Boring. I'm so used to travelling that I just don't care anymore," Deniizu yawned, then smirked, "Unlike Sasuke."

Upon hearing his name, the young jounin glared at Deniizu, who only countered it with a harsh stare of her own; even when they had studied in the Ninja Academy, Sasuke and Deniizu had never taken to each other. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Uchiha Itachi had been one of Deniizu's favourite people?

"Many of Iwa's ninja came through here, but I know that several of them came in over the walls or through other gates," Tsunade was saying, "We have most of our fighters inside, and I don't hear much noise, so chances are the battle inside is already done."

"You would be right, Tsunade-sama," a woman's voice said, and suddenly Shizune and four other Konoha ninja landed among their group, "This wasn't all of Iwa's forces, I would guess; only about one hundred, certainly less than 150 Iwa ninja entered Konoha."

"But though we beat them down, we don't just have a few injured or casualties on our side," Genma added, chewing on a senbon needle, "We need to collect the wounded and fallen."

"All right, then, let's go inside," Tsunade nodded, starting to move towards the gate, "We can't just wait out here."

Tsunade gave Deniizu a pointed look before nodding towards the two unconscious Konoha ninja. Understanding what Tsunade had meant, Deniizu used her telekinetic abilities to lift Hinata and Naruto gently from the ground. Gaara was already changing the landscape, burying the fallen enemies' bodies in the forest using sand.

"This looks pretty bad," Shikamaru mused, as they entered the gates, "...even the shopkeepers weren't given a chance to run, it seems."

~*~*~

"Rini-chan!"

Kiba ran and slid to where Pooriin had fallen, hurriedly checking her vitals. All were apparent, but they seemed...slow, somehow. Tsunade bent over by the girl's form, using a searching medical technique to try and diagnose what was wrong with the kunoichi. Chouji had been standing nearby, guarding Pooriin's body; now, he stepped over to greet the newcomers.

"Shikamaru! You made it back! Just in time!" Chouji exclaimed, enveloping his best friend in a back-breaking embrace.

"Ow! Careful with the spine!" Shikamaru grunted, hearing something crack.

"What are you talking about? The battle was already mostly over," Temari pointed out.

"Exactly," the former Team 10 said at the same time, then they and Temari shared a laugh; as a bit of an homage to his teacher, Shikamaru liked arriving in the nick of time, acting as a sort of hero to his comrades.

"It's good to see you, Temari-chan," Chouji added, giving the Sand kunoichi a significantly gentler hug, "And...Ino, you're hurt!"

"What?" Ino looked down to where Chouji was pointing, and saw that her right arm was still gashed and bleeding from earlier, "Oh. Look at that."

Ino tried making hand seals for healing jutsu, then grimaced; she was just about out of chakra. Old-fashioned aid would have to do; the platinum blonde ninja took a roll of bandages from her ninja supplies pouch and started wrapping her arm.

"Here, I'll help," Chouji volunteered, moving forward with his hands out.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Ino shook her head, edging away, "Help everyone else out. We have to take the injured to the hospital."

Not feeling particularly needed, Gaara, Sasuke and Kakashi excused themselves and went off in different directions. Deciding that there was enough help in the city square already, they decided to search for more wounded in the village, while Deniizu continued with carrying Naruto and Hinata to the hospital.

"Pooriin's been poisoned," Tsunade realized, before handing the ninja over to Kiba, "When someone cut her arm here," she pointed to a small cut, "...there was poison on the blade. You should take her to the hospital, but don't jostle her around too much; we don't know what will happen if the poison takes over her entire body."

"All right," Kiba nodded, and after he picked up his girlfriend, Akamaru took them both onto his back and they hurried away while Tsunade followed at a slower pace, looking for another of her villagers who were in need of help.

"Were you and Pooriin-chan fighting all alone?" Temari asked, looking at Chouji questioningly.

"No, Neji and Tenten were here, too," Chouji answered, shaking his head, "But as soon as the fighting stopped, Neji took Tenten away; she had been wounded and hit over the head, so he probably wanted to get her out of any more harm's way as quickly as possible."

"Aw...Neji and Tenten," Ino's eyes had stars in them for a little while, "They'd be so cute together..."

"How many times does Neji have to tell you?" Shikamaru groaned, slapping a palm to his forehead, "They're just teammates and close friends. That's all!"

"You never know, Shika-kun," Temari said teasingly, "A battle is a great way for two people to get closer together...maybe even spark a relationship... Do you remember Tayuya?"

"We weren't together back then, either," Shikamaru grumbled, jutting out his lower jaw slightly in a pout, "Quit twisting things, woman. This isn't about us."

"It probably is now," Ino laughed, walking faster to pull away from Shikamaru and Temari, "C'mon, Chouji, let's leave the two lovebirds alone to their playful banter."

"We're not playfully bantering! I'm serious!" Shikamaru exclaimed, but nobody paid him any attention, "...Troublesome friends..."

~*~*~

Sakura woke up slowly to the rest of the world, wondering where she was. Were those clouds above her? Was she...outside? Great, did Naruto pull one of his pranks on her and carry her while she was sleeping outside? Sakura could see Naruto now, coaxing Kiba, Sasuke or even Hinata to help him out. It was great that they were all back together, but 18-year-olds shouldn't play tricks like...!

Memory of the battle rushed back to Sakura, and she sat up with a start. Wincing at the pain in her head, she tried to ignore it while looking around wildly. Where was Lee? He had been there, right beside her...

Seeing a glimpse of green, Sakura got up with a cry, hoping that it wasn't really Lee's body, and maybe that it was someone else, like an enemy. But it was; Lee had been viciously torn up, both by kunai and stone-based techniques that the Iwa ninja must have used against him. He was barely recognizable with all that blood and with such a torn bodysuit, but when Sakura wiped the redness away from his face, she could see it was him. Sakura bit her lip to stop a gasp, and then glared at the eight Iwa ninja's bodies that were nearby; Lee was like this because of _them._

Quickly, Sakura activated healing jutsu to work on the most major wound, his torso, but as she did so, she kept watching for someone to come by. They were right by the hospital, after all; someone had to pass them in order to take their own wounded in for help.

Soon enough, Sakura caught sight of a white blur, carrying something that was red and black. They looked familiar...yes, Sakura recognized them.

"Neji! Hey!" Sakura called, not raising her hands from her healing technique, "Look over here!"

Neji slowed his run to a jog, looking for the source of the voice, then sped back up to join Sakura.

"Is that Lee?" Neji asked, incredulous.

"Yeah...is that Tenten?" Sakura exclaimed, then remembered herself and made sure her chakra flows were still constant.

"She got knocked out," Neji nodded, then added, "As soon as I sign Tenten in, I'll come back and help you carry Lee."

"No, we shouldn't move him right now," Sakura said, shaking her head, "It's mostly trauma wounds, so ask the receptionist to get Momoji and Tohru out here. And Tenten has, what, a head wound?"

"And a broken arm," Neji answered.

"Ok, ask for Hanajime or Uotani," Sakura said resolutely, "If there are any problems, just mention my name. Not that anyone will argue with the great Hyuuga Neji, of course."

Neji rolled his white eyes at Sakura's comment, but still he thanked her with a slight bow and hurried inside. At least he knew Tenten would get the best treatment, now; sometimes it was nice to be well-known and have good connections like Sakura in a hospital.

~*~*~

Gaara and Sasuke ended up walking along Konoha's evacuation route, to check on the village's non-shinobi contingent. At the beginning of the path, a few bodies of ninja, both of Iwa and Konoha, were found, but after that, the route seemed clear. Strong jounin had been set up at the trail's beginning, one of the survivors explained while a medic tended to him, so few Iwa ninja actually got through. Maybe only a dozen, and they had done so either by luck or they were stealthier than the guarding jounin had bargained for.

Still, halfway up the wooden stairs, both jounin noticed that blood stains were becoming apparent, as were burn marks; there had been a notable fight on the stairs. Several gouges had been made in the wooden steps and surrounding area; parts of the cliff jutted out in unnatural, diagonal stalagmites, probably due to more stone jutsu. Sasuke counted nine bodies, then two more further on the road; at the three-quarter mark Gaara had to put out, with his sand, a nearby tree that was on fire. Finally, just at the mouth of the refugee's cave, they found one more Iwa ninja's body with insects buzzing around it, as well as a huge, horizontal stalagmite jutting from the cliff wall; both shinobi surmised that there had been a serious injury sustained by either Shino or Michiko, looking at the stone spike's bloody tip.

"Gaara-nii!"

Saneijin ran out of the cave, from his post just inside the cave and within the shadows where he couldn't be seen, but where he could see everything that happened outside. Sasuke couldn't help but admire that the 10-year-old had thought to stay in a place like that, considering that most kids wanted to see all the action, often forgetting to put their own safety first. But then again, watching how the boy hugged Gaara, and guessing how close the two were, Sasuke had to take into account that the Hidden Sand's Kazekage must be one of Saneijin's tutors.

"Saneijin, you might remember Uchiha Sasuke," Gaara said, gesturing to the jounin as he spoke.

"Yeah, Mimi-okaa always uses him as an example with my ninja training," Saneijin shrugged, after waving to Sasuke, "But Gaara-nii...it's about Shi-nii."

_The kid's nickname, Shi-nii, sounds like the word 'die',_ Sasuke thought, somewhat morbidly amused; while he and Gaara followed Saneijin inside, he couldn't help but notice there was a trail of blood.

Inside the cave, after a few silent minutes of travelling through tunnels, the three males began to come across small clusters of people who were talking to each other in whispers. Every now and then, Sasuke heard a comment about both him and Gaara, and he felt glares on the back of his neck. He frowned; it was irritating, sometimes, when everyone knew and discussed who you were or the mistakes you had made in the past. Up ahead, they saw a light where they all knew the main chamber for the refugees would be, but instead of continuing straight, Saneijin made a detour and turned right.

Still following the blood trail, they came to a small natural cave, whose entrance was hidden by a large stalagmite, and which was lit up with a glow though there were no torches or lamps. Shino was lying in the centre of it, a large wound in his side; he had been the one hurt by the stalagmite out front. Michiko was kneeling beside him, her healing jutsu giving the cavern a cold, blue light while she held her hands against Shino's side. Blood was all over both ninja, but it looked to be mostly Shino's; Michiko seemed to have only cuts or bruises, not large gashes.

"Gaara-sama, Sasuke-kun," Shino said in a faint voice, but still in his deep baritone that somehow managed to sound calm, "Forgive us; we would stand to pay our respects, but..." Shino fought against choking on his own blood for a moment, "...but my wound, and Michiko-san's healing-"

"Silence," Gaara cut Shino off with a slight hand motion, "That is enough, old friend. We understand."

While Shino had been speaking, Saneijin had hurried out again, telling Sasuke that he would run for more medics, and Sasuke had examined the scene for a moment before leaving to check on the villagers. The Uchiha had noticed that the look in Michiko's eyes were stricken, being afraid for Shino's life, but she had not been shaking in the slightest while healing her friend. Shino had been badly hurt and bleeding, but he had acted as if it simply made him look like he had forgotten his manners. They were some kind of pair, continuing on with their business like that, regardless of the circumstances. Such is the way of the ninja.

* * *

_Esperwen_- This fic is really angsty, even for me... Drop me a review!


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